The Legends of War
by Moonlit Mewtwo
Summary: Having gone mad, some legendary Pokémon are rallying armies and calling for war. With chaos on the horizon, the rest must take it upon themselves to restore peace and order. Rating is for violence later on in the story. Please read and review.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or any characters associated with the series. This is a purely recreational work.**

* * *

Mew hovers in front of the remnants of the door to some- well, from what it can tell- some rather decrepit ruins. _"Is this it? Are you sure this is it? Not much to look at, the ones dedicated to me were in better condition."_

"_Yes,"_ the voice of a powerful ancient rings in Mew's head, _"Save your judgments for when you're inside."_

"_Yeah, yeah, sure thing,"_ Mew thought idly to Arceus. The Alpa Pokémon could be a real pill sometimes. Who did he think he was, after all? Just ringing Mew up like that and telling it to do some investigating of some place Mew had never heard of when they _weren't_ ruins. And why Mew? Oh that's right, because _somebody's_ tail wouldn't fit through the door!

Griping aside, however, Mew was itself partially curious as to what was here that was of such imperative importance to Arceus that it would make such hasty actions.

Pushing through vine-ridden entrance, unown-like writing was etched onto the walls of the ruins. Perhaps it would've been wise to stop and read them, but this wasn't what Arceus was looking for, as Mew understood it, and that would have to be for another time. Still, Mew had to hand it to humans- they certainly knew how to set the mood of a place…

"_Mew focus! There should be a fork in the road coming up soon. Take the tunnels as follows: left, center right, center, center, left, center, and then center. Got it?"_

"_Mhmm…what was that?" _Mew giggled to itself, imagining Arceus rolling its eyes. But it was right about the path- three tall arched doorways soon came into view…Alright then…Mew grinned like a Cheshire Meowth. Zipping through tunnel after tunnel-full of damp, dark air, Mew enjoyed the thrill of barely seeing where it was going, but going fast anyway…

Or it did until it ran into a pile of rocks blocking the last entrance. _"Serves you right, o reckless one,"_ Arceus chided. When Mew's world seemed to stop spinning, the first thing it noticed was how the walls of the tunnel behind it had changed- they were no longer earth with unown writing on them, but retained some of their whitewash and held on them bizarre runes and glyphs.

There looked like there was one section in the collapse where light seemed to shine through. One Rock Smash later and…perfect! A Mew-sized opening. _"You should get a look at this Arceus…this place is so…weird."_ And how! The room was exceedingly spacious, like the inside of great tower. On the floor were glyphs from which bright light streamed forth. As Mew looked around the room, it noticed that there were drawings of Pokémon on the walls. When approached, the drawings seemed to light up as if of their own will. Below the drawings were descriptions that seemed to be written in three different languages- only one of which Mew could understand.

"_As I recall, what we're looking for is near the front of the room,"_ Arceus prompted.

"_And may I finally know what exactly it _is _that we're looking for?"_ Mew questioned impatiently. Moving to the front of the room, Mew gasped. Drawings, large and elaborated detailed a specific kind of Pokémon- those usually given the title of "legendary". _"Look at this, Arceus, there's a bit on you! It reads, _'Arceus: The first to be drawn into the world to be made, it was that from which the other Tools of Creation were drawn.' _This is like, a really, really, really old __Pok__édex, isn't it?"_

"_It's more than that, Mew. I was here when the man who designed this place was still alive. Although he had not finished when I was there, I knew him to be an oracle- a man with prophetic visions…Many a thing he said came to pass…I seek to know if there is an entry here on a __Pok__émon that was not extant in his time. It should be near your entry, if you can find that."_

That wasn't too difficult, actually- Mew's entry was just above Arceus on the left-hand side. It read: "Mew: This is the one from who came all Pokémon that can multiply after their own kind, and may be as one of any of those in form." Mew recalled the time when its power had been used to make so many of the kinds of Pokémon. How creative was its Guide! _"Rather brief and the art style's a little outdated…but interesting. Now, let's see…next to mine…ah…ACK!"_

Unbelievable. Simply unbelievable. Mew was there and it just couldn't believe it. Right of Mew's entry there was a drawing that unmistakingly depicted…Mewtwo? _"Is this what you meant, Arceus?"_

"_Yes…when you had mentioned Mewtwo before…I had to know if its creation was predicted here in these drawings…read what it says."_

"_Alright…It says, 'Mewtwo: I have seen this __Pok__émon, yet cannot comprehend its purpose. The design of the Eternal was replicated and altered by creations…Still, I have seen this one…I believe surely it was meant to be.' Weird, huh?"_

Arceus didn't exactly reply at first. _"Do you know where Mewtwo is?"_

"_No, not exactly. We haven't seen each other in some years now. I've got some guesses as to where he is, though…Let me guess- you want me to fetch Mewtwo, don't you?"_

"_Yes, would you please?"_

"_Do this, do that…I'd better receive some compensation for all this!"_

"_Mhmm…what was that?"_

"_Arceus!"_

"_Oh come now, I was only teasing."_

* * *

A shadow is hovering in the seas, swaying right above where the deep blue becomes a black pit, and the creature looks itself as more likely to have come from below than from above. Such is not the case, however. This is a Pokémon, one not in the least normal, and here for a purpose not in the least casual.

Darkrai, of course, is not afraid of the dark. Perhaps it would be afraid of drowning, but the Pitch Black Pokémon is relying on the power in its own body to keep its vitals going. No, neither the dark nor massiveness of the ocean causes hesitancy in Darkrai- as of right now, only the fear of being discovered can do that, though even this cannot deter the living shade. "There is no alternative, there is no turning back", Darkrai tells itself ", this is the last one".Thus, plunging even deeper into the freezing black sea, Darkrai finds his mark, around which the water itself seems to contract and expand with its breath.

The mighty Kyogre rests peacefully, for the time being, but Darkrai knows better than to believe it will last. Extending its right arm, the tips of Darkrai's claws touch Kyogre's forehead. It is the beginning of a nightmare for Kyogre, yet Darkrai looks on with strange satisfaction as the Sea Basin Pokémon's visage contorts with fear, and then in rage. Darkrai's work here is done, and it vanishes in shadows before the great beast can wake up.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or any characters associated with the series. This is a purely recreational work.**

* * *

It was a dead end for the man. Run as he may, the crook and his Houndoom were faster, and now he was trapped. The thief pinned the man against the chain link fence, swearing like a sailor and snarling like his Pokémon. "Don't hurt me man! Here, here's my wallet! Just let me go…I've got kids fella, I've gotta get back to them, just please take the money…"

"Keys too," the thief hissed.

"Please, don't do this to me…" the man whimpered, but when that Houndoom snarled- and oh, did it sounded like a nightmare- he handed them over helplessly.

Turning around, though, both the Houndoom and his trainer saw their way was blocked off by an eerie figure in what looked like a tattered brown robe. Unable to see the person's face or hands, the man considered that this guy (or girl?) looked kind of like the grim reaper.

"Outta the way!" shouted the thief, echoed by his Houndoom's barking. The figure remained silent, however. It raised its arms and both trainer and Pokémon were drawn up into the air like marionettes, surrounded by a weird blue light. In a single thrust, the thief was knocked unconscious against the wall, and while the Houndoom at first exploded in enraged barking and growling, it gave way to anxious whining as the figure drew near. Not one to take chances, it seemed, the figure flung the Houndoom to the alley's entrance and permitted it to run away. So much for honor among thieves.

The pulled out the man's money and keys and levitated them into grabbing distance. Half-mortified, half-fascinated, the man stuttered out a thank you and ran away.

The figure did not, however. Wasting no time for the police to arrive, it kneeled over the thief, and stripped him of what cash he had, besides knick-knacks like…well, like this star piece, for instance.

Satisfied with its "wages" for the night (well, by now it was technically morning), Mewtwo returned to its base of operations- a rundown, abandoned apartment building. The building was home to many Pokémon these days, mostly Rattatas and Meowths, with a Spinarak or Gastly here and there, besides the groups of Pidgey and Starly that nested on the roof; all of the Pokémon in the building, however, generally left Mewtwo alone.

Now was about the hour that Mewtwo would stand on a corner of the apartment building, pondering its fate, asking of itself those questions that most rattled its mind. For example- was it right to steal from thieves? In a world where there's no free lunch and some Pokémon ate other Pokémon, perhaps this was the only way those desperate souls could eke out a living. On the other hand, why, then, did they pick targets that looked like they couldn't defend themselves? From Mewtwo's experience, it did not at all even phase these criminals to strip others who barely had anything themselves. Amongst Pokémon, even predators seemed to have some respect for their prey- yet that was not all the case amongst these criminals…

And it went on as such. Ultimately, Mewtwo could only feel so much guilt. It considered what it did as a service to the city. Anything of any real value Mewtwo placed on the windowsills of poor families because, as a Pokémon, it had no real use for money. Once, early in its career as a vigilante and a traveler, Mewtwo would keep only TM's and HM's, using those that it could and exchanging the rest with move tutors (after whose teachings Mewtwo would wipe their memory of having met it). These days, however, Mewtwo had no use of most anything, except for food, water, and sleep- which all seemed to be at a premium.

Floating through the broken window of its room below, Mewtwo took one last look at a newspaper article about the city's "mysterious, silent hero" before curling up and drifting off to sleep.

* * *

Nothing good can last, they say, and in the case of Mewtwo's sleep, that was true. The Starly flock above got up rather early to make their racket. Earlier than usual in fact, Mewtwo noticed. Shrugging off the impertinent birds, Mewtwo was about to go into the hall when one of them called to him from the broken window.

"Hey, ummm, you!"

"_What?"_

"There's this one Pokémon here that wants to talk to ya!"

"_Send them in, then." _Mewtwo didn't even bother turning around. It was probably just some plucky Spearow or something that wanted to try its luck against him. That sort of thing happened from time to time, but most of Mewtwo's challengers chickened out when they saw it, and those that didn't were soundly beaten. Not the sort of thing Mewtwo savored, though, as it much preferred to fight stronger Pokémon.

Mewtwo heard something chirp "hi there!" from right behind it…Wait a moment, that voice…Oh no. That high-pitched mewling…Mewtwo winced.

"_Hello…Mew."_

"Long time no see, eh? So, still haven't got your own voice, Mewtwo?" Mew zipped and zoomed around the room, touching _everything_ and generally being a disturber of the peace.

Suddenly feeling rather self-conscious, Mewtwo cleared its throat. "I _can_ speak, you know, I just choose to save my voice…"

"Well, well, don't bother 'saving' it for me. I'm company, and you're my host and stuff."

Mewtwo wondered if company was synonymous for parasite in that sentence. "You know, technically, and to my great chagrin, you _are_ a relative of mine."

"Oh, save it. You never call, you never write. It's been _how many years now?_" Mew huffed, "Some relative you are, yes indeed!"

Mewtwo smacked its forehead and made a mental list of the places it would like to teleport Mew to. "You're not here to catch up with me, Mew. You wouldn't have bothered," now it was Mewtwo's turn to sound offended, "You're here for a favor of some kind, no doubt, so can we just get this over with."

Mew sighed, as though its good mood had been genuinely deflated. "Fine, have your way. Yes, I'm here to ask something of you, but the request is simple and painless, really. Have you heard of the Hall of Origin?"

"No…where is it, and what's there?"

"Suffice to say it's a kind of meeting ground for legendary Pokémon, and the home dimension of Arceus, who has asked to meet you. The Hall of Origin could be accessed from anywhere, I guess, but it's…customary, I guess, for those who are able to go through at Spear Pillar at Mt. Coronet."

"What an unusual custom…" Mewtwo eyed Mew wearily.

"But it is! Honest! C'mon Mewtwo, it'll look bad if you don't come!" Mew certainly was getting rather anxious…

Come to think of it, though, so was Mewtwo. Very subtly something in the air had changed, and looking at Mew, Mewtwo could tell that both felt that something was just _off_ somehow, just _wrong_. The sort of feeling you get just before seeing an oncoming tidal wave. _"We should get out of here,"_ Mewtwo concluded, unable to bring the words out of his throat, not wanting to ruin the silence…And what silence it was. What happened to the chatter of birds, and of humans? Where was the roaring of cars driving past?

In spite of their instincts to remain hidden from Man's gaze, the brooding silence compelled them to investigate its source. Mewtwo and Mew floated outside of the apartment building and onto its roof. Above them, right before their eyes, a mass exodus was occurring. Everything with wings, everything that could float or fly, was flying frantically to west. The very Sun was dimmed for the multitude of wings.

Below them, the less fortunate Pokémon and humans were dropping what they had, abandoning buildings and cars. Looking towards the source of their fear was a sight that would've made lesser souls faint entirely or deny the reality of it. Looking down Main Street in the distance, Mewtwo saw a great ruby titan of a Pokémon roar, and as it did, the earth trembled, pavement cracked, and the city's denizens tumbled to the ground. Behind the red behemoth marched a large army of what looked to consist mainly of ground-type Pokémon. The army filled the streets, and some of the bigger Pokémon soldiers overturned every vehicle in their path.

"_Now'd be a good time to book it, methinks," _Mew remarked, and after looking at Mewtwo's shock and outrage, added, _"Now's not the time to get territorial Mewtwo. The both of us together couldn't take on all of them."_

"_Perhaps not,_" Mewtwo shot back, _"But the people and_ _Pokémon of this city deserve at least a fighting chance to escape…I believe we can provide them that." _Without further ado, Mewtwo rushed to the frontlines, and with an exasperated sigh, Mew followed.

Some of the city's residents, it seemed, had formed their own resistance, standing defiantly in front of the oncoming army- albeit, keeping a distance of about a hundred feet from it. Their mouthpiece was a brazen young trainer with a megaphone.

"What's the big idea here? What do you think you're doing, huh!"

From across the way, a human with his own megaphone stood across the way. "This is Groudon, my master, who has come to call out all of his ground and rock-type brethren to join the fight against the great forces that are coming to destroy you. Other Pokémon and humans may also join the fight, but they must swear fealty to Groudon."

"And what if we don't wanna join? What're ya gonna do then?"

"What Groudon asks is not a request- it is a _demand_. All land, including this city, is Groudon's. Join peacefully or you will be crushed." Some Pokémon and some people looked amongst themselves, seeing who would go. Sure enough, out of the city's crowd came some who looked fearful, and some who looked brave, but about a quarter of the crowd in all left and stood on Groudon's side. The remainder stood still, mortified, but ready to fight.

Mewtwo looked at Mew, who nodded solemnly back. The two swooped to about three hundred feet of altitude and between Groudon and the crowd. With all of their might, the psychic cats erected a circular barrier about two football field lengths in diameter. Not impassible, perhaps- especially for Pokémon that could tunnel- but it would certainly be annoying and it would buy the crowd some time. Indeed, the crowd, though brave, got the message. Most were too panicked to even look for the barrier's source.

The army was not so skittish, however. Groudon looked at Mew, then at Mewtwo, and bellowed in rage, which sent its army rushing at the barrier, pounding away at it. Groudon itself joined the effort, and every blow was smarting to both Mew and its superclone comrade. Mew turned around and started kicking at the air, as if that would somehow help to keep the barrier propped up.

"_Can you see if they're gone?"_ Mewtwo asked, grimacing.

"_Just a little longer…" _came the telekinetic whisper.

"_It won't _hold _much longer!"_

"_This was YOUR idea! And anyway, I think they're in the clear now. Ready to let go?"_ Mew turned around and saw Mewtwo nod. "_One, two…"_ the barrier vanished.

The distraction wasn't as much of a help as they thought it would be, though, because Groudon still held his gaze forward, looking on at his quarry. That wouldn't do. Mewtwo hurled a Shadow Ball right at Groudon's nose and uttered the loudest, most pantherine scream it could muster while Mew tried pulling down the foundations of weaker buildings to further frustrate the army's efforts. More incensed than injured, though, Groudon shouted back and brigades of Flygons took to the air and were headed right for Mew and Mewtwo.

"_Now would be a good time to leave, I think," _Mewtwo offered.

"_You read my mind!"_ Mew giggled, despite the situation, _"Can you teleport the base of Mt. Coronet? I can lead you up to Spear Pillar from there."_ Mewtwo nodded, and just as the Flygons came within feet of them, they disappeared.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or any characters associated with the series. This is a purely recreational work.**

Mewtwo found itself standing on a sort of clearing full of small, scrubby, alpine bushes, looking up at the silver mist that obscured the mountains peak. In front of it was a cliff with a near vertical drop, and behind it was sheer rock face. Mewtwo was almost depressed that it hadn't bothered to remember somewhere a little more…convenient…especially considering that Mew hadn't picked out the same place to teleport to, it seemed.

In fact, Mew, as it happened, was on the other side of the mountain. But where was that wayward super-clone? That was irritating, but expected. Actually, Mew would've been more shocked if they _had_ shown up in the same place…which got it thinking…what were the odds of that, anyway? Ah well, there would be time for crunching the numbers and all that later. Now, to find Mewtwo…_again._

Had Mew not the capacity to become invisible and fly, perhaps this take would have been difficult- ridiculously so, in fact. Well, maybe not, and that wasn't the case anyway, but in Mew's mind, that, at least, would have been a challenge. And who's to say it still wouldn't be? Then again, Arceus may be getting impatient, heaven forbid, and then the whole world surely _would_ collapse…Well, darn, huh?

"_Mewtwo where are you?"_ the New Specie Pokémon called out, first in singsong, but then in earnest. At some point, Mew simply tried reaching out its psychic "grasp" to any nearby Pokémon. Not too much, such as to leave them with some mental privacy, just enough to identify whether or not any of them were the mind she was looking for. At some point, she received a reply, faint, as though blocked by static, but it was promising…_"That you, Mewtwo?"_

The best that Mew could make out was, _"…come…you…"_ Well, that was good enough for this psychic Pokémon. Mew and what it _presumed_ to be Mewtwo kept up contact with one another, the sentence becoming less fragmented. Within a matter of minutes, Mew knew Mewtwo was close, maybe just over that rise…With a last burst of speed, Mew shot over the rise just as it could hear Mewtwo call, _"Stay there, I'm coming for you."_ Of course by that, it was too late and the only reason the pair didn't crash and burn was because of their, well, cat-like reflexes. Mew and Mewtwo staggered around for a moment inside of their bubbles.

"_Did you not hear me?"_ Mewtwo shouted into Mew's mind.

"Not until it was too late," Mew hissed back, "and why are you still using telepathy anyway?"

"_Because I _can _and because I choose to. Cope. Now then, how far up to Spear Pillar?"_

"_Only a few minutes by flying...but in the caves the trip would be much, much warmer…well, comparatively."_

"_Wouldn't it be much easier just to teleport us there?"_

"_Yeah, but then you wouldn't get the scenic tour."_

"_I thought I was to be brought there in haste."_

"_Oh boo, you are no fun."_ Mew and Mewtwo teleported to Spear Pillar. "There, are you satisfied now, impatient one?

Mewtwo wrapped its cloak tighter around itself and peered over the ruins' edge. From here, the clouds did not seem like silver mist, but a steel blanket that obscured anything directly below. In the distance, however, one could see for miles upon miles on end. The scenery was really quite beautiful here, maybe, Mewtwo considered, it should've taken Mew up on its offer. This would be an excellent spot to meditate…

"Don't think about it," Mew floated over to Mewtwo and pulled on its arm, "You wanted to get here in a hurry, so here we are! Now let's go, I'm freezing!"

"_I was just wondering about that,"_ Mewtwo snorted. However, the Genetic Pokémon was not given much time to ponder this matter, as before long what looked like a staircase made of wide glass plates descended from the sky. _"This is it?"_ Mew nodded, and floated up, the super-clone in tow. At the top of the stairs was a wide area consisting of the same glossy glass tiles the stairs had been made of. The way the floor reflected the sky was interesting, but…_ "Can this even hold every legendary Pokémon there is?"_

"_Of course it can!"_ Mew replied cheerfully, _"This is just the…well, let's call it the foyer. To get farther, we need clearance; otherwise it would be very difficult to get in. But look! It doesn't seem we'll be waiting long."_ Indeed, a curious-looking Pokémon seemed to have materialized out of thin air. _"Jirachi! How are you?"_ Mew briefly touched minds with the Wish Pokémon, who responded in kind.

"_Fine, thank you. My, it feels like it's been ages since last we met."_

"_It probably has been."_

The steel-psychic type looked briefly at Mewtwo, and they, too, exchanged a sort of mental handshake._ "Well, aren't you going to introduce me?"_

"_Ah, yes, Jirachi, this is Mewtwo, who was cloned after me…as you can see, the scientists that made it took a few…liberties. Mewtwo, this is Jirachi; Jirachi here has the power to grant most any wish."_

Mewtwo nodded its head. _"That sounds like an excellent talent."_

"_It is,"_ Jirachi nodded, _"but I try to limit the number and type I grant to strangers all the same- it can be quite tiring work."_ Jirachi shook its head. _"Shouldn't keep you waiting though now, should I? Alright, here we go…"_ There was what Mewtwo perceived to be a blinding flash of light, and what the Pokémon saw next caused it to gasp- namely from pain; glass tiles here were more than just reflective, they were as blinding as staring into the surface of the Sun. However, once Mewtwo's eyes adjusted, they were able to take in the atmosphere of the place in their entirety.

For as far as the eye could see, the land was almost nothing but glass tiles, white marble pillars, and hinge-less doors that seemed to lead to nowhere; the pattern was only broken because wide banks of white mist rolled across the ground here and there, as though steam had risen from between the tiles. This, Mewtwo thought to itself, was more like it.

"Not bad, eh? Just wait until you see the landlord." Mew chimed.

"_That reminds me! Are you for your match, Mewtwo?"_

"_Match?"_ Mewtwo glared at Mew. _"Against who?"_

"_Why, against Arceus! Didn't Mew…"_ Mew looked at Jirachi made a slashing motion across its throat.

"_No, Mew left that bit out. Conveniently_._"_ Mewtwo looked positively disgusted. It didn't mind battling- in fact, the prospect of a worthy competitor excited Mewtwo…but Mew could've at least had the decency to tell it!

"I didn't have the time to tell him," Mew squeaked to its defense, "I was…interrupted. Mewtwo can vouch for me, right?" Mewtwo seemed to be pondering how to answer, but before any answer could be given, Mew jerked up, as though suddenly prompted, "Which brings us to a rather urgent matter. We, Mewtwo and I, have come bearing grave news and must inform Arceus and the others as soon as possible."

"_No time to waste then,"_ Jirachi nodded, _"but Arceus and the others are in the colosseum room already."_ Following Jirachi down the vast halls until they came upon a massive marble door embellished with gilded depictions of what Mewtwo guessed to be significant or memorable battles or the like. With a good psychic shove, the doors creaked open and revealed their contents.

The first thing Mewtwo noticed about the "room" was that it was not really a room at all, in the traditional sense. For about the first 300 yards of distance in front, the glass tiles were replaced with sandstone blocks. The distance of the blocks horizontally was endless, but as one went forward it could be seen that for about every 100 yards of distance there was a drop of about fifty feet, though a slope was placed for every eighty feet of horizontal distance.

Past the sandstone stands, there was a sheer drop, or, for lack of better words, a massive crater or pit. The crater was of a great size for an arena, if small for a crater…certainly, though, larger than any stadium Mewtwo had seen. The inside of the crater was just as curious as the size, though. The walls of the pit had placed in them bizarre, colorful plates placed equidistant from one another. Near the walls were rocks and boulders of various sizes. The floor of the crater had, at its center, a large pool, surrounded by sand. Mewtwo, though at a distance, spied that something floating over the center of the pit, however, was not part of the environment…

It was about at moment that Mewtwo noticed the crowd of Pokémon gathered near the edge of the pit. Most of the Pokémon were ones that Mewtwo was, if not familiar with, not out of its scope of knowledge, but amongst them the psychic feline noticed some that it had never seen before, and that common and rare alike were staring at Mew, Jirachi, and itself.

As the floating object from the pit drew nearer, Mewtwo realized it to be a Pokémon of no small power. Even from where it was, the Pokémon emanated an aura of power the like of which rivaled if not outright superseded that of the other Pokémon here that Mewtwo presumed to be legendary. As though it had picked up on this, a telepathic message directed solely at Mewtwo whispered, _"Yes, it is I, Arceus."_ Then, more publicly, inquired, _"Is this the one who has come to challenge me?"_

Before Mewtwo could respond, Mew spoke up. "It would be, Arceus, but there are grim matters that need discussing. A terrible thing has happened and I'm afraid the match must be postponed for now."

One confused and disappointed crowd later, Mewtwo found itself in a room with even _more_ glass tiles, but, more interestingly, a massive slab of black onyx etched with beautiful gilded runes. Arceus took its place at the far end of the slab, while the other legendary Pokémon in attendance found for themselves suitable places to sit. Mew had chosen to sit at Arceus's left hand, so Mewtwo chose the right side- albeit, at a distance from the Alpha Pokémon.

"_I suppose introductions are in order," _Arceus said promptly, _"I suppose I'll start and we'll just sort of go counterclockwise?"_ The other legendaries nodded. _"Very well then. I am Arceus. I was first of all Pokémon to be made; I was formed from chaos. What you see here is my home."_

"Oh, you already know me!" Mew giggled.

"_And I guess you met me already, too…But, umm, yeah, Jirachi here,"_ the Wish Pokémon smiled with a shrug.

"I am Celebi. I'm a time traveler, so I guess you could you could say I'm on the road a lot!"

"I'm Azelf. I sense you have a strong will…don't show it much, do you though?"

"Mesprit…I deal primarily with emotions."

Uxie had been yawning as it spoke, making understanding it a bit more difficult than its brethren, nevertheless, Mewtwo heard, "Uxie…It is refreshing to meet another strong mind."

"_Darkrai,"_ the Pitch Black Pokémon gruffly remarked, _"Charmed."_

As though to make up for Darkrai's lack of hospitality, Cresselia gave a warm and hearty "Cresselia. Greetings!"

So the beat went on. "I am Giratina," came from the gray dragon opposite of Arceus.

From there five remained, all on Mewtwo's side. The first down the line stated in monotone, "I am Regigigas."

"I'm Heatran."

"_I am Deoxys…a…a visitor to the planet you're from."_

"_I am Lugia,"_ declared a great white bird.

"…_and I am Ho-Oh. Glad to meet you."_

"_I am even more glad to make yours,"_ Mewtwo spoke with genuine humility- never had it been in the presence of so many strong Pokémon, _"It is truly an honor to be among you."_

"_Now, I suppose I should state for the record,"_ Arceus began, _"that these you see here are the senior representatives for their kind- many you see here are indeed the first of their species- but unfortunately not all of the representatives are here. Also-"_

"_Also,"_ Lugia interrupted, _"there has been an outbreak of a horrid plague, as of late. It is killing off many legendary Pokémon…Heatran here, for example...he was among the first of his kind, now he shall also be the last and-"_

Arceus stamped its foot. _"That interruption was quite unnecessary Lugia. I feel for your loss, I really do, but I will _have _order."_ Arceus looked at Mewtwo. _"Still, what Lugia speaks is true. While many legendaries do not need a mate to reproduce, some do, and in any case, with so many good Pokémon dropping like flies without enough to replace them…we have reason for concern, to say the least."_ Arceus turned its gaze towards Mew. _"Now, I'm hoping this news you've got can perhaps enlighten us?"_

Mew looked around, looking for the right way to phrase its response. "Well, kinda. It's sort of a good news/ bad news deal. The good news is that Groudon is alive and kicking! The bad news is that it's kicking the world to pieces. When I went to go get Mewtwo, I came in practically right when the city it was in was being invaded by Groudon- and not just _that_ hot-head, either- it had a whole army behind it! And Groudon's translator kept spewing on something about protecting ground and rock-types from some oncoming enemy, and that the city belonged to Groudon and so forth…Groudon itself wasn't in a real, err, "chatty" mood, so I can't say what exactly that all means."

"_It's likely just Groudon and Kyogre going at it again,"_ Darkrai commented casually.

"But why would they involve so many in their struggle this time? They hadn't before, I don't see why this time should be so different," Cresselia quipped, which agitated Darkrai immensely- critical thinking could be very inconvenient, at times.

"_The matter needs more investigation before conclusions can be drawn. I'm sending down scouts to investigate the matter. Now then,"_ Arceus then withdrew to a more informal tone, _"I will, so help me, have my match with Mewtwo."_ Arceus turned to face the super-clone, _"However, since matters have been delayed this long, and it seems that Mew was unable to inform you that we would be battling in the first place, I ask that you rest and prepare yourself in whatever manner you deem fit. I want to fight an opponent that is able to give its all!"_

Mewtwo nodded back to Arceus. _"Then that is what you shall have."_


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or any characters associated with the series. This is a purely recreational work.**

"Going somewhere?" Darkrai flinched when it heard Giratina. For such a thick-boned creature, it certainly had the habit for appearing when it was least convenient.

"_You know I never cared for Arceus's taste in décor. I need some fresh dark,"_ the Pitch Black Pokémon replied smoothly.

Giratina was clearly less than convinced. "You'll miss the match if you go now, you know."

"_Yeah, pity that…"_ curse those glaring red eyes, _"but really? It's not going to be much of a match."_

"What about Deoxys? It came pretty close last time?"

"_Ah, close doesn't cut it for me."_ A mirror-like portal appeared before Darkrai, but before it could enter, Giratina shoved Darkrai back and came between it and its goal. But calm down, the floating shade reminded itself, now was not the time for a fight. _"Is there a problem?"_

"Yes, there is. I have a problem. I have a problem with being left in the dark, so to speak, and you know why. I'm not one to neither ask nor hinder you with the reciting of protocol or with my own curiosity, but I _will_ have _some_ form of an honest answer from you."

"_Suffice to say that I am in the works of solving a very difficult problem, but the solution must remain hidden for a little while."_ Giratina tilted its head ever so slightly at this. _"I have to go over Arceus's head this time- I could not risk delay; you of all __Pokémon should be able to understand that."_

Giratina was silent for a while, merely trying to read Darkrai's expression. When the Renegade Pokémon seemed satisfied with what it found- whatever it found- it resigned. "Can this solution of yours be delayed until after the fight?"

"_Can you manage a sense of humor?"_ Darkrai itself was not very chatty or sociable to most anyone, but Giratina was even more grim and serious than the dark-type, so what could it hurt to oblige the dragon this once? It would be a short fight anyway, as Darkrai saw it.

* * *

The "room" that Mewtwo was led in to rest was very unusual, having a dream-like quality to it. As Mew described it, the room was interactive, and took on the appearance of whatever one thought would help to relax and focus the mind and body. As a result, the room took on the appearance of several scenes as Mewtwo was lay there and watched them pass; all of them appeared with great vividness and detail, seeming impossibly real, but when at length Mewtwo headed for the door, the room became blue skies and glass again.

Now then, it was time…Mewtwo played out a thousand strategies in its mind. What would be the best approach? What were its advantages, what were Arceus's advantages, and how could Mewtwo turn them against the great beast? Such were the thoughts of Mewtwo before battle- anticipating how the battle would end before it began and every detail and possibility in between beginning and end. And yet…What if there was something that Mewtwo could _not_ anticipate? Surely there had to be- no Pokémon with a winning streak like Arceus could have gotten it without having itself a quick mind and a few tricks up its sleeves, as the saying went. Adapt. Adaption would be the key, yes. Expecting the unexpected and all that. Yes, that was it.

Or was it? A Ninetales that had found Mewtwo looking for the arena had been kind enough to lead Mewtwo to the door, and made some off remark about how intense Mewtwo's expression was. Could the fox not see it was not determination, but doubt? Arceus was ancient- even more so than Mew, and _that_ was saying something. Did Mewtwo even stand a chance? Maybe it would be best to call the fight off, but then what would that say? Mewtwo had fought many Pokémon before, even very well-trained Pokémon before, but none of them were Arceus. Still, the experience that it learned from all those battles…it would not be without reward, surely.

The arena was empty, and so too was the pit. The Ninetales had gone off to tell Arceus that its competitor had arrived, so Mewtwo had a few last moments of silence.

The first Pokémon to arrive were all the legendaries sans Arceus, who, naturally, took the front row. Next were the other denizens of the Hall- the aforementioned "common" Pokémon, although there was a fair share of Pokémon here that were rare, if not extinct on Earth, and those that were not legendary or rare had an almost supernaturally healthy look- these Pokémon mostly chatted amongst themselves.

Last of all was Arceus, who strode through the crowd with an air of determination. Jumping over Mewtwo and landing on the other side of the arena, Arceus turned around and reared up. _"Are you ready?"_

"_As ready as I'll ever be,"_ Mewtwo replied.

Deoxys floated over the arena's center to begin the match; the words of its mind rang clear, _"This battle is between Arceus, the Alpha_ _Pokémon and Mewtwo, the Genetic Pokémon. No potions, elixirs, or berries may be used. May the best fighter win."_ Immediately after saying this, Deoxys teleported out of the pit and into the stands.

Arceus came out swinging, or charging, rather, coming at Mewtwo like a freight train. Mewtwo quickly dodged the initial trampling and evaded all but the last blow of the frenzied trampling that ensued. This was going to be tough.

In fact, it was going to be a lot tougher than Mewtwo had thought. The psychic cat tried to put distance between it and Arceus, the Alpha Pokémon reached for one of the plates that embedded onto the arena's wall, causing parts of it to turn dark grey or orange. Arceus then proceeded to cast Dark Pulse at Mewtwo, which smarted something awful. For the first few minutes of the fight, Mewtwo tried to dodge the attacks, which seemed to aggravate Arceus to no end. That isn't to say that Mewtwo wasn't irritated as well- every time that the chance came up to hit, Mewtwo was either too cautious to get close enough, or otherwise Arceus switched plates to an unfavorable type.

At some point Arceus stood its ground and roared, _"Are you going to fight me or aren't you! No holding back!"_ Arceus's eyes began to glow bright red, and in kind, Mewtwo's became bright blue. Something clicked then for both of them as they stared at each other. For Mewtwo's part, it realized that it finally had the chance to exercise the full extent of its power- something it had not done in a long time…Now there was nothing, nothing, nothing in the world, except the opponent. What was a bloody nose when one's rival was still standing?

The fight then started in earnest. The skies cracked with lightning, the ground trembled, and from the pool water seemed to pour out as if from the ocean deep. These were two at home on the battlefield. Mewtwo hit fast and hard, relying on agility and range, when possible, while Arceus focused more on precise hitting- one strong, solid hit was worth several smaller ones and took less effort to execute. Indeed, had it not been for some careful maneuvering and well-timed Recovers, Mewtwo may well have already fainted. As it was, both combatants were tiring. Blow for blow, and neither could gain the advantage, but both could see where a well-aimed Stone Edge or a searing Flamethrower had torn at them. The arena, too, reflected the effects of the fight, being pock-marked, dented, and muddy.

Mewtwo summoned a Blizzard against a dragon-type Arceus, who launched Draco Meteor back in turn- yet…both had used Endure! Why, Mewtwo wondered to itself, did these things have to come so close? Mewtwo had been hovering, but kneeled down to the ground now, breathing heavily- were they really going to finish this? Mewtwo looked up at the roaring crowd, then at Arceus. The Alpha Pokémon had dropped all of its plates and, with shaking muscles, pawed the ground. How long had the fight been? Minutes? Hours? It did not matter- the conclusion was nigh.

In one last heave, the shower of mighty light spears that was Judgement erupted from Arceus just as a beam of psychic energy as thick as a cedar tree shot from Mewtwo. Milliseconds felt like eons, and yet before Mewtwo knew it, its vision turned white, and then black.

The first thing that Mewtwo was aware of when it came to was what a whopping headache it had. The next thing the Genetic Pokémon noticed was a Blissey tending to its wounds. "How do you feel," the pink Pokémon asked.

"_Like someone dropped a Wailord on me,"_ Mewtwo replied-and that was the truth. _"What happened? Did I win or lose?"_

"Neither. It was a dead-on tie. Celebi was even in the ring at that last moment and declared it so. Man, what a fight!" Mewtwo had mixed feelings about it, however. A tie? On one hand, that wasn't exactly losing, but on the other…it had poured out its blood in that fight…for a tie? Mewtwo's gaze wandered over to the other side of the ring. There was Arceus, attempting to stand up in spite of its injuries. Mewtwo tried to do the same, but both it and Arceus had to prop themselves against the arena wall for a while as Blisseys and Chanseys finished treating their wounds.

After catching their breath, both fighters staggered forward to face one another. Arceus, who had surely heard the results by now, looked to be in a giddy mood. _"Thank you for a most memorable battle."_

Mewtwo shook its head, _"It is I who should thank you."_

"_Now,"_ Arceus looked up at the audience, particularly the first row, _"I myself had my doubts that a creature who was made by man could truly be as strong as I, yet see! I believe that this, Mewtwo, was greater than even its designers had known. Truly, it deserves the title of legendary."_ The crowd cheered, and chanted the names of both Arceus and Mewtwo.

Even amongst exaltation, though, Mewtwo felt almost humbled. Never had the psychic cat fought so hard against another Pokémon in its life- except, perhaps, against Mew, but there had been no victor in that fight, either. Far from being frustrated, it was a wonderful thing to find one's peers in strength. Not to mention- what peers they were, too!

* * *

After the excitement from the battle had died down, Mewtwo and Arceus had gone to rest. After briefly congratulating them both, it was time for Darkrai to get back to business. After gathering a few supplies, the Pitch Black Pokémon left the Hall of Origin.

* * *

This was nearly a lightless world, Shaymin considered. The only light that made its way down here were dismal flecks that came through the ceiling- and that itself was a wonder. At least there was an abundance of water here…Perhaps Shaymin could have made the effort to leave the cave, but the lack of light made the grass-type feel sluggish. Not even the Gracidea flowers that it held so close seemed to help. How long would Darkrai tell it to stay here?

As if on cue, Darkrai materialized from the shadows. _"I got some things for you."_ Darkrai set down a bowl on the floor and next to it was something bright- the brightest thing Shaymin had seen in months. The bowl, as it turned out, was full of berries, which Shaymin gulped down greedily. _"I was hoping the shiny stone might help a bit."_

"_It was a nice thought, Darkrai,"_ Shaymin mumbled more glumly than the Gratitude Pokémon itself would have liked.

"_You still wish to be outside, don't you?"_

"_I do. I'm sorry, I know you've done a lot, but I cannot live here."_

"_I cannot risk infection of the others."_

"_How do you know I am infected? I've had no symptoms, and anyway, you were as exposed as I."_

"_Perhaps we are immune somehow, but I have taken several precautions to ensure that I would not be a carrier."_

"_Could I not take those same precautions? Sooner or later every single one of them is going to be exposed to it, you know, and there's no way you can prevent that. Please, take me to the Hall, to an unoccupied room, and lock me in it, even, but I can't stay here!"_ Shaymin saw Darkrai hesitate, and look away. _"Darkrai, I'm _begging_ you, please! If I stay down here, I'll die!"_

Darkrai sighed heavily and pondered what would be an acceptable compromise. _"It need not even be so extreme. I'll take you to the Hall. Disinfect yourself, and I suppose that is as much protection I can give them. All I ask is that you do not mention my involvement prior to bringing you there. Say whatever you will, otherwise."_

"_Thank you, thank you!"_ Shaymin yipped, and gathered up its belongings, which now included a shiny stone, apparently. Shaymin had always been rather fond of those.

To make it official, Darkrai had taken Shaymin into the foyer, so that it seemed that Shaymin had come in on its own. However, Shaymin was not the only recent arrival here. Shortly after Shaymin had run off, the squadron of Dragonite spies that had been sent out into Earth to investigate the situation at large there had returned.

Of the twelve there, one called out to Darkrai, "May we proceed?"

"_You may."_ The Dragonites kept in step behind Darkrai as it lead them to the conference room. Opening the door, Darkrai instructed them to wait here, but asked, _"What news, if I may know some of it?"_

"We must save the bulk of our news for the one who deployed us, but I can say this: as we flew over the world, there was a great deal of distress and chaos."


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or any characters associated with the series. This is a purely recreational work.**

Note: Things do get a bit more serious in this chapter.

* * *

By the time all of the legendaries had assembled, the Dragonite squadron seemed to have figured amongst themselves a reasonable presentation. However, the Dragonites did take up the much of the left side of the onyx slab, having spread themselves out- ergo, Arceus chose instead to stand in the center of the right hand side of the slab to face them, and the others likewise situated themselves.

"_What news from the world these days?"_ Arceus spoke calmly, but seriously. Generally, the mood so far had been a good one, one of excitement and hope, but the Alpha Pokémon anticipated grim news, judging by the looks on the squadron leader's face.

"Much of the Earth is in disarray- four continents, for sure, besides a number of islands. None of us could have anticipated what we would see. We saw many of the legendaries who had not come here and around them flocked Pokémon by the thousands! They have built what looked to us like armies and many cities have been captured or wasted."

"_That is…"_ Arceus tried to fish for the appropriate words, _"unusual. What else can you tell me about the armies?"_

"There are five major armies championed by Dialga, Palkia, Groudon, Kyogre, and Rayquaza, and nine smaller divisions headed by the Regis, the Beasts, and the other Birds. Also- we have only seen one of each kind…" The Dragonite paused for a moment and then continued, "Of the armies, I know for a fact that Zapdos is aligned to Rayquaza, that Registeel is aligned to Dialga, and that Suicune is with Regice; this we know because we have seen them marching alongside one another. I suspect that other alliances have been made, but cannot prove it so."

"_Is there a motive?"_

"We could not find one- nor guess one, because there was too much risk in trying to converse with the armies or their leaders."

"_Have you seen any Latias, Latios, Manaphy, or Phione?"_

"_Or any more Shaymin?"_ At once everybody looked at Shaymin, who was sitting on the edge of the onyx tablet. Had it been there before? Shaymin just sort of blushed under its fur and curled up a little.

The lead Dragonite collected himself, however. "I'm sorry to say, no; we have not seen any of them- I suspect that they are in hiding during this time."

"_Does there seem to be any resistances forming against the armies?"_ Deoxys inquired.

"Yes. We have seen a few attempts by handfuls of humans and Pokémon to resist these armies, but most are small and struggle to hold their own. The most successful movement is in Kanto, as I recall- Moltres and Articuno have gained control of the north and south, respectively, and are more concerned with fighting each other than suppressing obstinate refugees."

"_Thank you for the report,"_ Arceus addressed all the Dragonites, _"You are dismissed."_ After the dragons had left, the legendaries moved around the onyx tablet to make space. _"Now then- we have new orders of business. First of all- Shaymin, when did you get here?"_

"Just before the squadron came in, I think. Let's just say my old hiding place wasn't working for me," Shaymin replied with a squeak.

Arceus did not seem wholly convinced, but then, Shaymin did have a knack for appearing and disappearing right under one's nose. Tilting its head to the side, Arceus nodded, _"Well, you have at any rate arrived at a crucial hour- which brings me to my next point,"_ Arceus looked around the room, _"the squadron's report, coupled with Mewtwo's, tells us that what is happening on Earth could be called a worldwide event- or at least, it will be very soon. Now then, what can we do to right this?"_

"It would help," Cresselia began, "If we knew why exactly they're fighting in the first place. Right now…I cannot understand what reasoning would drive even Rayquaza and Suicune, who are not even so war-like as the others by nature, to go into red alert."

"_Furthermore,"_ Lugia added, _"I think it would be wise to assume that we will be treated with hostility on all sides- from our fellow legends as well as from any who may be in opposition to them."_

"Between the two, I think it would be better to reconcile with the refugees," Mesprit stated calmly, "Consider: if we throw our support behind this or that faction, then it will only serve to produce more animosity behind those that oppose it. If we help the resistance, it will also attract less attention to us than if we were to side with one of the type-based armies." There were some nods and whispers around the table.

Darkrai shook its head._ "If I may play the devil's advocate here-"_

"And you always do," Cresselia huffed.

"_Yes, well, can I continue?"_ Darkrai spoke slowly and patiently, _"Our presence will not long go unnoticed no matter whether we come in peace or arms, and regardless of whom we choose to support. Nevertheless, if we help the refugees, we will start at a huge disadvantage: limited numbers, even more limited supplies, to say nothing of the relative strength of our opponents."_

"However," Celebi countered, "We would have greater mobility and stealth."

"Also," Azelf put in, "if we could just subdue and recruit an enemy faction, even if it was just one, which would show our intentions true enough, don't you think?"

"_What of the __Pokémon that live here? Will they not help us?"_ Mewtwo asked. This question, however, brought about a sort of awkward silence.

Mew was the first to break it. "Umm, Mewtwo, the Pokémon and humans that are here are…guests, you might say. It would be rude to ask them to fight."

"_Even if they are ready and willing to fight?"_ Mewtwo shot back.

"_We could only accept them _if _they are ready and willing to fight,"_ Arceus solemnly remarked as it turned to Mewtwo, _"However, under the emphasis that we neither demand nor recommend service to our cause, I will ask it of them."_ Now Arceus stood up and addressed the group, _"Whatever we plan to do, we must do quickly. We stand the best chance in first heading to Kanto. Moltres and Articuno are strong birds, but they cannot face all of us, even if they by themselves teamed up against us, which they won't, by the looks of it. Given the opportunity, I'd rather reason with them, if it's possible- I'd rather understand why they are already fighting than just come out swinging."_

"_More than likely," _Darkrai sighed_, "that won't be easily won information. What then?"_

"_Then we must subdue them by any means necessary- short of killing them, if that is at all an option. If it comes to fighting, and it probably will, we should try to get in with whoever is leading the resistance in Kanto."_

"_That's assuming they have a leader,"_ Darkrai pointed out.

"For now, this is the best we can do. We need information, above all- which will be, as you said, difficult to come by, but it's the only thing that will really make or break our efforts," Mew concluded.

"_Then it's decided,"_ Arceus raised its "voice" a half of a decibel, _"We head for Kanto, garner as much information from the natives as possible, and if it by that point it is apparent that we must act in force against Articuno and Moltres, so be it. What we now need is work."_ Arceus turned its head to the right, _"Jirachi, Celebi, find a way to pack any supplies we might need, enough for a few days. Mew, Mewtwo, you know Kanto better than most of us, I think, so find us a good launch point, and when you both have agreed on one, tell it to Regigigas, Heatran, Heatran, and Deoxys- they will be the ones in charge of strategizing how to best attack the type-based armies. Let's see…Yes, Mesprit, Uxie, and Azelf- you best understand human nature, so help us in our interactions with them. Lugia, Ho-oh, you know Articuno and Moltres better than any of us, so if there's a way you know to approach them peacefully, tell us or find it. Darkrai, you come with me…Am I missing anyone?"_

"_Umm…" _Shaymin's thoughts echoed like tiny ripples in a churning sea.

"_Hmm? Oh yes, Shaymin, sorry about that. You come with me, too."_ That seemed to make Shaymin nervous, but then to most Pokémon, Shaymin always seemed nervous, especially without its Gracidea flowers. In all reality, Shaymin was afraid that Arceus might ask some prying questions about where it had been, and with Darkrai around…well, it would have been a bit awkward.

As it happened, though, preparations went on without a hitch, and by the time all was ready, Arceus had enlisted the aid of twenty Pokémon from the Hall. Now all there was only to pull together…Within a matter of what seemed to Mewtwo like hours, all was in place. In the foyer of the Hall of Origin, thirty-five Pokémon watched as the world appeared to dim…

* * *

Jirachi had been right. It wasn't bright in there, it was dark out here. Mewtwo's eyes struggled for a while to adjust, and focused on the glass under it for a while. The only Pokémon without issue here, actually, were Darkrai, Giratina, and those of like type among them. When the rest had blinked out the haze from their vision, the area was surveyed. Before them was virgin forest just off of Route 16. Here, the trees were not so thick that the glass stairs could not manage to maneuver through them- it may have been an unpleasant way down, but certainly was better than falling.

The goal for today was to make it as close as possible to the southern edge of Mount Moon, hopefully without getting noticed by unwanted eyes. As it happened, that was not as much of a problem as Mewtwo thought it would be- it was around three o'clock in the evening, and there was nothing to be heard, and nor could Mewtwo feel out any minds nearby, besides its companions'. Three miles into the trek, and not so much as a leaf had crunched without the troop knowing it. Far from being peaceful, the silence was eerie…

By sunset, the silence of the forest had not broken for being so barren; however, a scent rose up into the air that was distinctly _not_ of leaves or bark. It was…metallic, and sharp, and horribly familiar. Blood? Yes, blood, and something else. Maybe some unlucky Pokémon that had become someone's dinner. More likely not. There was an Arcanine among them who said that it could easily pick up on the trail, but the air among the troop was one of caution, so Mew was sent with the dog, just in case.

Everyone in the troop had been on their feet since landing, so at first, there were no complaints or concerns as they watched Mew and the Arcanine go on ahead. When a half of an hour passed, however, the tone had changed dramatically. Had something happened? Were they alright?

Arceus encouraged everyone to remain calm, yet inside, it too felt uneasy. A Pokémon of great power, fear seemed to ill become the Golden-Hoofed one, but such unpleasant silence coupled with knowledge that somewhere all the Pokémon who were missing were out there and unfriendly was quite frankly more than most anyone could bear.

Even Mewtwo felt concern with Mew's fate at this point. _"Mew, what's going on?"_

"_I left the Arcanine behind- I'm close now, I can tell. The smell, though…the smell is rather pungent. Hold on, I'm getting closer, I'll show you."_ Mewtwo closed its eyes and the world through Mew's eyes developed…The bush here was rather dense and difficult, but Mew knew how to navigate. Then, as if out of nowhere, there was a clearing- not a meadow, so much, as what looked like a miniature disaster zone. For about fifty yards in every direction, there were Pokémon and humans steeped in ash- or was this an ash heap covered in Pokémon and humans? Some of the trees here still smoldered red in parts. _"Oh no…no."_

Mewtwo turned and addressed the troop. _"Mew may be in danger. Let's go."_ With as much speed as the trees would allow them, the troop caught up with the Arcanine scout and doubled its pace. By the time they had reached the place Mew was at, the pink cat seemed to have vanished. _"Mew, where are you?"_ Before long, Mewtwo felt a slap in the back of the head followed by an angry hiss.

"_Idiot! You blew my cover!"_ Mew screamed into Mewtwo's head, _"Now look what you've done!"_ Sure enough, figures marched from across the clearing, carefully stepping around the fainted and fallen on the ground, but marching all the same. Now the air was full of sound, but none of it pleasant. The harsh discord of squawking birds and growling beasts filled the air, all following the lead of one dust-laden human.

The human in question was female, of medium tan skin, black hair, and having fire red eyes and a Stantler-skin suit; she was, perhaps, about twenty at most. Now, the human came walking within feet of the troop, pulled out a polished red Absol horn, and pointed it directly at each and every Pokémon in front of her. "If you think you can just come and pick up the scraps, you've got another thing comin'." For a moment everyone in front of the human looked utterly stupefied- it was not every day one finds a human who speaks Pokémon- with a Zubat accent, at that. "If you're gonna hang your mouths open like that, may as well have some answers coming out of them."

What gall! Who did this woman think she was, anyway? Of all of them, Uxie had best kept its temper and shock in check. "What is your name?"

"Give me your names and I shall give you mine," the young woman replied icily.

"Hmm…how about this: our names and purpose for your station and name. Sound fair?"

"You first."

So, begrudgingly, each and every of the thirty-five Pokémon gave its name. Mewtwo reached out as lightly as possible to the woman's mind,_"We know that Articuno, Moltres, and many other powerful Pokémon have gone either to war or into hiding, but we do not know why. We were hoping perhaps there were some still that had not joined one of the armies, that we could learn more from them of the situation here."_

"Please. Thirty-five Pokémon, almost half of whom are probably legendary, and the rest of who look very well-trained, have come here just for curiosity's sake? Give me a break- and by the way, your attempts at courtesy are somewhat lost on me. If you have working vocal chords, please use them, if not, then my apologies, talk through someone who does."

Mewtwo, feeling a little insulted, cleared its throat. "You need not hold up your end of the bargain- I can guess what you are. The fact that you have both humans and Pokémon behind you speaks much of your character, but so do your _lack_ of attempts at courtesy. I should think that you lead the resistance in these parts."

"Mm, clever," the girl taunted as she examined her nails, "and chatty too- that's new for a war-monger."

Darkrai was finished with this charade, and floated within inches of the woman, who didn't bat an eye, but seemed considerably less collected than before- especially when Darkrai seized her wrists before she could reach for the Absol horn dagger. _"Child,"_ Darkrai's rough voice did not lend itself to the smoothness of the words, _"we are not here for you, quite frankly. We are here because there are things much, much worse than _you_ in the world, and we must stop them from destroying all you hold dear- even if it is only your short life- and we will do this by means fair or foul. Now then, because we are not here for your harm or, honestly, for help from you_ except_ in this matter, I would stop horsing around and tell us what we want to know, if I were you. Just saying."_ Darkrai slipped into shadow and pulled back into the troop.

"To put it a bit more nicely," Cresselia said, scowling at Darkrai, "we're here to put a stop to this madness, somehow, and restore peace to the world. We don't want to fight you, and we're not asking you to join us…actually we'd like to know if we can help _you_." Even Cresselia had to admit, though, that this was an odd position for a legendary to be in. Somehow, the bird had thought that they would be received as heroes, not villains.

The young woman put her hands on her hips. "So, do all of you _really_ want to help us refugees out?"

"_We have a similar goal,"_ Arceus noted, _"it only makes sense that we would help one another, wouldn't you agree?"_

"I do at that," the girl conceded, "Now, if you'd _really_ like to be helpful, you can help us clean up. Oh, and by the way," she turned around to the crowd behind her, "back to work everyone, I can handle it from here." She repeated this again to the humans. For a moment, the crowd hesitated, but she shouted for them to get moving, and before long the tension was dissolving- slowly but surely, and everyone moved to the other side of the ashen clearing. "Do you see this? Do you see how burnt the earth is here? Moltres sent a detachment of flyers- a mix of Charizards, Gligars, and even a few Salamence, just to scout the area. They managed to spot us, so it turned ugly…very ugly. It's the ash though, that got most of us- made it impossible to breath. So now we've got a dilemma: the fires are all put out, but now the smoke is sending a red alert to anything within a mile of here. We need to clean out our dead, salvage what we can from the bodies, and do it quickly."

"_Bodies?"_ Shaymin squeaked, _"What do you mean, you kill Pokémon? They kill Pokémon?"_

"Yes, runt, we kill around here because what would faint a Pokémon can kill a human, and fainted Pokémon are finished off here- such is this chaos. Don't even bother chiding me about it- my comrades are _dead_, and does the enemy care? Not at all, or they wouldn't have done this to us. _They_ set the terms of engagement, not us." The young woman began picking her way through the ash heaps, and picked up a dead Pidgeotto, and sighed, "Given half a chance, he would've just fainted, he would've recovered..." The young woman shook her head, "If you can find any that are fainted, but still alive, then take them over there," she pointed to the far end of the clearing, where a handful of humans and a couple of Chanseys scrambled to clean wounds, "If they're dead, though, skin them, take anything that might be edible off of them, and take the sturdier bones- they might be useful." The young woman turned around, but then turned back for a moment. "Name's Lee Dragonheart, by the way."

It was dismal, grueling work. True, Mewtwo had seen Pokémon killed for food, but this was very different. In a normal Pokémon battle, the fight ended when one party had fainted. To the winner, there was no need, usually not even the feeling of needing to end the life of their opponent- if they were fainted, then what could they do to you? This was different, though. The silence and efficiency with which the whole of the refugees turned Pokémon into scattered bones gave the impression that Mewtwo was not among individuals, but instead one great animal that was feeding, or a hive of ants that was taking away food bit by bit. _"How could a day change the nature of all?"_ Mewtwo asked Mew.

"_What do you mean?"_ Mew, who was examining a downed Charizard, turned to look at its counterpart.

"_Since the attack by Groudon, it has only been a day, and the world has turned upside-down."_

"_A day? A literal day, you mean?"_ Mewtwo nodded slowly, puzzled,_"Oh no, Mewtwo, I thought you knew. Time does not pass in the traditional sense in the Hall of Origin. It's going on three months that you were there. It only _felt_ like a day…Put it this way- when there's no real way to tell time, because there is no time, then how do you know how long something's been happening? Theoretically it's possible to land a thousand years in the future, or a thousand years in the past, or more, even."_

Mewtwo seemed to be struggling to accept that so much time had passed- Mew owed it three months of its life! _"How then can it be controlled, that is, how do you know _when_ you're going to be somewhere."_

"_I'd say much in the same way that you entered through Mount Coronet, and wound up here. There's no difference, really. Maybe you can ask Dialga and Palkia for specifics, when they're in the mood, that is."_

"_When they're in the mood…now that's the thing, isn't it?"_ Mewtwo looked around the clearing. The last sunlight was slipping away from the sky, being replaced by stars. Every Pokémon and human that could draw breath had been taken in, and those that could not were stripped of everything- clothing, skin, flesh, and even bones. Only that Charizard by Mew was left. Somehow, the pink psychic had managed to coax the last spark of life into remaining. The Charizard coughed and wheezed, and Mew's psychokinetic hold pulled the creature's head off the ground.

The Charizard saw Mew and its eyes widened. "Mercy," he coughed, "please have mercy on me."

Lee, who had been watching from a distance, walked up, and drew her dagger, holding it to his throat. "Mercy? Where you would not have shown it to us?"

"We thought that," the Charizard wheezed, "that you were evil, that you were trying to do something terrible. Moltres said…" there was a great deal of coughing; the Charizard looked like it was about to faint again. "Moltres said that…something had happened, that something terrible was going to happen. It said to join it so that we could survive."

"Did Moltres also give you clearance to raze cities and attack civilians?" Lee's voice burned with restrained rage, and she moved the Absol horn closer to the lower throat, so that she could reach his heart with it. Before she could kill the Flame Pokémon, however, Mewtwo put its paw over her hand.

"_Spare him,"_ the psychic panther commanded.

"Spare him!" Lee parroted, "Spare him? And why should I?"

Mewtwo limited the range of its telepathic voice to only Lee and Mew, _"Because we can learn from him. Bind him, if you can, and if you feel so inclined, but spare him. We cannot afford to pass up such an opportunity."_

"Alright, fine," Lee sighed, withdrawing her dagger, "today is your lucky day, Charizard." Lee took the Charizard's tail in hand and began to drag the creature, but upon seeing the rather surprised looks of Mew and Mewtwo, designated Mewtwo to psychically lift the pseudo-dragon. With their cargo in hand, Lee brought up the rear as the rest of the refugees pressed on- a few carrying the loads of what was had been reaped today.


End file.
